Submarine mine



March M, 1944. P.' BoRRAccl SIUBMARINE MIE Fired July 22. ,1955s Patented Mar. i4, 1944 SUBMARINE .MINE

Pasquale Borracci, Florence, italy" ;v vested in thel AlenProperty Custodian Applicaticnluly 22, i939, Serial No.. 285,850, In Sweden andthe Netherlands June v.27,1939

3 Claims.

The invention concerns a device which receives galvanic currents obtainedin the water by the iron portions of va iioating Abody yand by the copper portions connected to amine or,V the like.` The said device causing, Y, through galyanic current, the play .of a setof levers, the last of which brings abouta mechanical action capable of sendingoutan-electric current, disconnecting, for instance, a detent from the armature of a generator provided with a coiled spring, or the like, so that on itsbeing actuated, it shall afford an electric current adapted to fire the mine. The device is such that although highly sensitive to. the influence `ofmagnetic currents, it is unaectecl.bymechanicalactionsfsh'ocks, vibration, eta-from the exterior.

The invention will best be .understood on following the specification andthe Vaccompanying drawinghwhich shows, schematically, a practical example of the carrying out of the said invention..

In said drawing Fig. l is a perspective general view of theapparatus;

Fig. 2 shows the said apparatus ,in operation in one of, the modes of. application;y

Fig. 3 is a detail of themooring cable,.which also performs the functions of .a lower antenna.

Fig. 4 shows schematically the spring means for imparting a determinate position to the coil.

According to the example delineated, the apparatus comprises two coils a'-a rotating in the magnetic field of two permanent magnets b-b".

The two coils are provided with mutually reversed electric windings, so that under the infiuence of the galvanic current, the one turns in a direction opposed to that of the other.

The armature of the two coils are perfectly equilibrated or balanced relatively to their axes of rotation c-c. Beside this coil-according to the example-there is a dynamo d whose armature is connected to a previously coiled, torsional spring, and is destined to supply the current for the firing of the small electric fuze pertaining to the mine; this dynamo is locked to the rotating coils by means of a special system of levers, which we will proceed to describe.

The locking system is constituted as follows: Upon a suitable base e is fixed a small trestle or support f which carries a small roller g capable of rotation. The said roller carries two shafts integral therewith: the former h disposed horithe. action of this zontally, the latter i disposed vertically. The

carried by `the disc.

shaft h is intended .to support the. extremity ofva leverrlc pivoted at-Ic.

The shaft z isprovided at its lower part with a Vcounter-weight i', and at its vupper-part itis suitably bentV atan angle in ordervto Aloearat the lower extremity thereof, vagainst one oftthe two sectors l of a disccapable ofrotation.

Two appendages or ro,ds..mm. are rigid `with the ytwo coils a-a, andengage with two vslots provided with .the said VtWo sectors Z-l.

The lever- 1c is provided with a projectionvlc." againstswhich bears the-.extremity n. oa lever n fulcrurned atm/f. Theother extremity ofthesaid leverV n is likewise.- provided with. a projectionl nf upon which rests .they free ,extremity ofvanoth'er lever o fulcrumed ato'. Thislever o also carries a vtooth c against whichl bears. a .projection .p carried by. the .sleeve 27J'1ltting. out froml the: dynamo d. The springvdestined to actuate this dynamo is. tightened vbymeansof. the squared head d and the corresponding ratchet d'7.

The levers lc-,n are perfectly. equilibrated rela.- tively to.-their.centre of. rotation by means, for instance, of counter-Weights, not. shown `in the drawing; thev lever` o may. also ,be equilibrated.

Each coilis provided. at the central partthereof, viz. at the parts facing each otherwitl'1'a small spiral spring. Forthesake ofclarityj inthe drawingl the smalllsprings are not shown in'Fig'. ,1; one of them, however, is`clearly` represented in Fig. 4 in which the spring r is seen to be fixed at one end thereof to the axis of the coil, and at the yother end to a support s of the said coil. These small springs serve the purpose of holding the coil in a given position while same is without any current, so that the element or sector l may always be in a symmetrical position relatively to the rod i; precisely until there is no longer any passage of the current. lAnd these small springs are means which suffice to maintain the determinate position, which is-in shortthe position for which the two small pins m-m retain the sector in the desired symmetrical position, represented in the drawing, and adapted to aiord a central support for the appendage z on the face of one of the sectors Z.

AS is apparent from Fig. '2, the apparatus is placed within the torpedo t, which when submerged in the water is moored to the anchor u by means of a cable 11, which, as may especially be seen from Fig. 3, is partly wrapt in insulating material o'. Round this insulating material is wound copper wire v" which constitutes the lower antenna, that is, the lower electrode. The

upper electrode, covered copper cable m, y also made of copper.

The operation takes place as follows: On the iron hull of a floating body coming into contact with either of the two antennae :zz-v, or with the buoy y, a galvanic pile is formed, whatever may be the concentration of the sea-water.- This improvised galvanic pile causes a weak:v current to circulate through the coil circuit; the current starts, for instance, from the buoy; it flows through the upper antenna (Fig. 1) andv proceeds to circulate through the coil a of the apparatus, from whence, passing through the wire 2 it enters the coil a", and issues from same through the wire 3 connected to the lower aninstead, is composed of an uncarried by a cable-buoy tenna u; the water, which constitutes the pile electrolyte, closes the circuit between the antenna v and the hull.

The current circulating through the coils creates a magnetic field, which, under the influence of the magnetic eld existing in the two permanent magnets b'-b, causes the rotation of the two coils a-a,". And as the said windings are, as stated above, wound in mutually reversed directions, the coils turn in opposite directions. At the end of each coil drum is located-as has been seen-the respective contact pin m-m or the like. These contact pins thus cause the action, viz. the rotation, of the sector element l--l in one direction or in the other, according as the upper or the lower antenna is struck.

Due tothe slight rotation of Z the shaft appendage z' springs into one of the gaps of the said element; thereby the small roller g is permitted to perform a slight rotation under the action of the pressure of the lever lc which bears against the appendage h of the said small roller.

This lever, thus, on the raising of its extremity lc", liberates the lever n, which rotates while low.- ering the extremity 11" thereof. Then, the lever o turns about the pivit o', raising its extremity o" and freeing the tooth p' from the sleeve p. Hereby th'e dynamo' armature, which is charged with a spring or other means, is left free to rotate, thus generating the current, which, through the 'conductors 4-5 is conveyed to the charge-ignit- Ving fuze.

Of course, the shifting of the lever o may bring about any other action-the closure of a circuit,

activation of a pile or the like, capsule of generating current.

I-Iaving now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. In an apparatus actuated by an electric current for ring a mine, a base,fmeans mounted on said base forming a magnetic field, an electric circuit comprising two coils in series in the circuit, said coils being mounted on supporting means to rotate on a common axis in said magnetic eld, the coils being so wound and connected that the current circulates in opposite directions in the coils resulting in rotation of said coils in opposite directions in said magnetic eld, said coils and supporting means each being balanced with respect to the axis o-f rotation, means for firing the mine, biased to firing position, a releasable detent restraining said firing means, and means whereby movement of said coils in opposite directions releases said detent, said releasing means comprising a rotary member having an opening therein and mounted on said base, connections between said coils and rotary member for turning said rotary member on rotation of said coils in opposite directions and operating connections between said rotary member and detent including a part movably mounted on said base and bearing against said rotary member and movable into said opening to release said detent on rotation of said rotary member.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said iring means comprises a spring actuated electric generator and said Operating connections comprise a balanced system of levers.

3, The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the means for ring the mine comprises a spring actuated generator, and an equilibrated system of levers connecting said detent and part, wherein said detent is formed on the short arm of the lever and receives pressure from the generator spring tending to turn -said lever and each lever of the system consists of a short arm for receiving pressure and a long arm for' exerting pressure whereby the pressure of said part on said rotary member is a small fraction of the pressure exerted by the spring generator.

PASQUALE BORRACCI. 

